Star Wars: Children of the light
by XPowerXPlusX
Summary: During the Rise of the Empire, the Jedi Knights of the Galactic Republic were all but destroyed. However, one young Jedi rescued several force sensitive children from the Jedi temple before its destruction. After taking them to a remote world he began to train them in the light side of the Force...
1. Intro

Introduction:

Cold.

Cold and dark.

Those are the words you would use to describe the vast void of space. Incidentally, those words could also be used to partially describe the figure currently sitting upon a black throne enveloped in a curtain of darkness.

Now this figure, a humanoid shape, was one of the more intelligent beings in creation.

Able to see things most others would not, nothing of significance happens that he is not knowledgeable about.

But not only is he a tyrannical genius, he is also the most cunning man in the galaxy.

Yes he is in fact a man.

By appearance he would seem to be human, however his apparent soullessness and lack of compassion would suggest otherwise.

Spending most of his time in meditation, the figure monitored everything. Every plan or plot devised against him or the empire he had built. Every rebellious thought that his underlings betrayed in their own mind.

With this power you would think one might be unstoppable.

However, something was wrong. The man with all the knowledge...was missing something.

Something blindingly powerful and galaxy shattering.

Something nearly undetectable to his constant probing. The figure frowned.

What could possibly be small enough to hide from him, yet powerful enough to suggest a threat to his dominion?

If the fact that a new power was rising wasn't troublesome enough, he also detected that it was stemming from the light side if the force. Ahh the detestable light.

Always trying to shine brightness and hope upon the people he had enslaved through power and blood.

Yes indeed he despised the light, for it sought to bring and end to his dark rule.

The man's frown slowly turned upward in a sinister grin. This new threat would be the first challenge he'd had in several decades.

He would enjoy tearing apart this new adversary.

Much like the cold dark space... There was a light. A light that filled others with hope.

And just like space ventures to bring darkness, he would snuff out this new light...


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

The sounds of the forest rain drowned out nearly everything. The patter of raindrops on the leaves. The crackling thunder overhead.

A flash of lightning revealed a young girl taking cover under a fallen tree.

Focus, she told herself. She glanced upwards an scanned her surroundings, before looking down and studying the strange object in her hand.

In her grip was a long silver tube. It had black ridges down the middle as well as a few colored buttons. It wasn't very heavy but she still grasped it with all her strength as if her life depended on it.

Focus. Again she tried to clear her mind. She listened intently, hoping to hear the sound she was looking for. She sorted through then all.

The sound of the rain. Frogs croaking in the pond behind. Birds chirping overhead. She took a moment to breathe in the environment.

If it weren't for the humid air, some people would find this place an attractive home, she thought.

Indeed the forest was home to many strange and exotic creatures. Many were colorful and bright, while others were dark and brooding. Multicolored plants dotted the landscape and brought life to the otherwise damp and green forest land.

Perhaps maybe one day civilization would find its way here.

*CRACK*

She snapped to attention. *CRACK*

There it was again! The noise she had been waiting for. The sound of footsteps struggling through the underbrush filled the air.

The girl took a deep breath. She needed surprise to accomplish her goal.

As the steps came closer, she realized that her adversary was walking directly above her on the tree she was hiding beneath.

She held up the silver tube to waist height and waited. The figure above her then leapt off the tree and landed with his back to her.

She nearly gasped and quickly hid herself behind the tree. The figure was a male, who stood taller than her and wore dark clothes that blended well with the forest.

He began to trudge forward in the opposite direction. The girl sighed and quickly began to creep up upon him. She tried her best to match her footsteps with his to avoid detection.

When she was less than two yards away, she held aloft her right hand gripping the tube.

She pressed a button on the side and a brilliant blue beam of light erupted from the top of the tube with a loud snap- hiss.

She immediately swung the beam downward at her foe. However the man, at incredible speed, whipped around and pulled out a similar silver tube.

He too pushed a button and a stunning beam of green light ignited. The two beams collided in air with a terrible crackling sound. Sparks flew off the beams before both combatants drew away.

The girl took a few steps back, her blade in both hands, and faced her opponent. The man however only smirked. He lowered his blade in one hand, as if taunting her to strike him.

The girl glared at him, before charging forward, again bringing her blade down upon him from above. The man easily blocked the strike with his own. The girl was relentless however and pressed on her attack.

She swung right to left, as if to chop him in half. The man again blocked the blow, as well as the next one which was a swing towards his left shoulder.

The girl was prepared for this defense however and quickly used her left leg to deliver a devastating blow to his right knee.

The man fell back and hissed in pain.

The girl smirked, believing she had disabled her opponent. But he was stronger than her first looks had suggested, and he rose up again. This time with a look of determination in his eyes.

It was his turn to attack, and he did so most furiously. He began with a high to low chop, which she blocked, and then swung at her right side. She was barely able to block the strike before another came at her left side. She again blocked but his brute force began to wear down her defense.

He slashed again and again and she parried with difficulty. As the girl grew tired, the man sought for an opening. The girl fought to maintain her defensive stance but was quickly becoming overwhelmed.

The man saw and opening and thrust his blade straight for her head. She saw the incoming attack and just barely managed to turn her head away. She felt the heat emanating from the green beam as it passed nearly an inch for her face.

While she had dodged the blade, she was not prepared for her adversary's next move. He brought his fist up and slammed it into her gut, taking her breath away.

As she gasped for air, he brought his hand up again and backhanded her, leaving a telling bruise on her face. She fell backwards upon the ground.

The silver tube left her hands and the blue beam disappeared as it fell to the ground. The girl hit the dirt with a loud thud and gasped. She coughed twice and lay her head down in defeat. She had failed to disarm her enemy and now she was at his mercy.

The man slowly walked up to her limp form and lowered his blade to her neck. He smiled for he had achieved his victory. He then switched off his blade and hung it on his belt.

He kneeled and offered a hand to the girl. She took it and he pulled her off the ground and steadied her as she began to regain her balance.

She turned to look at him and they gazed straight into each others eyes.

His piercing green met her warm hazel.

Upon her further inspection, it seemed the man was really a teenage boy, not much older than she. They studied each other for what felt like an eternity before the girl made her move.

Keeping her gaze steady, she leaned in, her face closing the distance from his.

It seemed she was almost touching his lips with hers...right before she slapped him square in the face.

"OW" the boy cried out, "what was that for?!"

The girl frowned before speaking in the angriest voice she could muster.

" You backhanded me in the face!" She near screamed a him.

His smile gone and a red mark forming on his cheek, he countered,

"And you kicked me in the knee!" Her look became even more aggravated as she said,

"I was just trying to even the fight! You're twice as good at this then me and you didn't even try to go easy!" Now it was his turn to speak.

"What are you talking about? I was holding back a lot!"

"Oh so now you're saying I have no skill?" She shot at him.

"No no no, that's not what I'm saying!" He made an angry half grunt and spun on his heel before sitting on a rock facing her opposite direction.

She too did the same and faced away from him. There was more tension in the air the had been between them before.

It was a stalemate to see which one would reconcile first, and reveal their emotions.

The boy sighed.

He turned to look over his shoulder at the girl's form. She seemed so delicate. Her beautiful brown hair flowing in what little breeze the jungle heat offered. Her eyes, while he could not see them, were a match to her personality, inviting and cheerful, but also moody if put on the wrong path.

He smiled to himself and chuckled before standing up again and walking towards her.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, which he then felt tense up.

"Look I'm sorry," he began" I should have held back and fought fairly." She made no comment and stared straight forward, away from him.

He continued," Kelsey please, I can make this up to you."

Upon hearing her name, Kelsey turned to look at him. She studied his face for a moment before embracing him in a tight hug.

"You promise me you won't do that again?" She whispered in a sweet innocent voice.

Still caught in her embrace the boy responded,"Yes I swear."

Kelsey smiled and pulled away from her friend.

"Good, then I forgive you, Nathan." Nathan smiled back and offered up her fallen blade.

She took it from his hand an clipped it to her belt.

"Thanks for that, next time we duel, we should use stun sticks," Kelsey commented.

"Nah", Nathan stated," I prefer good ol' lightsaber combat."

He patted the silver tube clipped to his belt. Indeed these tubes of metal were known as lightsabers, the weapon of the Jedi Knights of old, the peace keepers of the Republic.

Kelsey chuckled,"Well you ARE the best with a lightsaber out of all of us."

"Speaking of the others, shouldn't we head back to Mainstage?" Nathan asked,"They're probably wondering were we are."

Kelsey answered," That's a good idea, I don't really want to be lectured again."

The two shared a laugh before heading down the crude jungle path that lead towards home.

-/

/

Mainstage.

Built long ago during the start of the Clone Wars, Mainstage was a Republic base built secretly in the forests region of Falesis.

Equipped with state of the art technology, it was defended by multiple laser turrets a well as a squadron of V-wing star fighters.

While the fighters had never flown and were now covered in foliage and debris, they could more than likely be used to inflict damage on attacking forces.

While the planet itself remained neutral during the war, the Republic used the outpost as a listening center to determine Separatist plans.

However at the fall of the Jedi, it was abandoned and forgotten by all but a few.

But despite its apparent abandonment, a few young Jedi trainees called it home.

One of these, a boy about 17 years of age, was leaning along the upper balcony rail.

Staring towards the lush green forest, he was deep in thought.

His brown hair falling I'm front in his face, his expression was difficult to make out. It was calm and yet concerned.

Obviously conflicted in thought, his face twitched. He blinked twice and snapped back to reality.

Sighing at his own distractedness, he began to trudge toward the main control center of Mainstage.

His thoughts could easily take hold of him if he wasn't careful. Loose thoughts can lead to doubt and frustration, he told himself.

With this in mind he reminded himself to meditate later when his duties were done...


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Sir?"

The man in grey's eyes snapped open and he focused upon the voice's owner.

"Yes, what is it?" He inquired in a monotone voice.

"Moff Tarkin is currently hailing us on a priority channel."

If the man in grey was surprised, he did not show it. He was, in fact, caught off guard that such a high ranking officer like Governor Willhuff Tarkin would be contacting HIM.

"Direct the transmission to my personal quarters," he ordered the lower ranked officer.

"Right away sir" the officer replied before turning away.

The man in grey sighed before beginning his walk to his quarters.

Let us take this moment to study this man as he briskly walked down the bleak, undecorated corridors of his ship.

Commander Bänder, was not easily impressed. Despite this fact, he took a special interest in anything and everything left behind from the Clone Wars.

His own ship was a relic itself; a Venator Star Destroyer, The "Reliant", had been in line for the scrapyard when he had requested it as his own personal vessel.

Imperial Navy Command, seeing it as an outdated instrument of a past war, obliged his request. They did not see the need to give the young unimportant officer command of his own Imperial class Star Destroyer anyways.

And so the old and outdated warship remained stationed at Kelvin Outpost in the Outer Rim.

The purpose of Kelvin Outpost was simple. It was designed as a relay and communications station to transmit Imperial Documents from the Outer Rim Command straight to Corusaunt.

As the Empire was more concerned with matters in the core worlds, the outer rim was deemed unimportant.

This led to the lack of funds and the overall atrocity of the outpost's condition, of which Bänder so dearly hated.

But back to the young commander, who had just entered his quarters.

Bänder approached a panel on the wall of his suite and pushed a button. Immediately a blue hologram of Moff Tarkin appeared.

"Greetings Moff Tarkin, I am at your disposal", Bänder stated.

"Thank you for your time Commander, and it is in fact GRAND Moff as I have recently been promoted." Tarkin corrected him.

Grand moff? Bänder had no idea that such a rank even existed in the empire.

"Ah my apologies, Grand Moff," Bänder replied,"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Tarkin nodded, as if accepting the apology, before continuing,

"Straight to the point I see. That is an admirable quality."

"Thank you sir." Bänder acknowledged the compliment.

Tarkin smirked.

"However you shouldn't let yourself become too arrogant lest you lose your privileges as a captain."

Bänder's expression became confused.

"Captain? I'm afraid you must be mistaken Governor Tarkin, I am simply a Commander of a run-down space station."

Again, smirking, Tarkin spoke,

" Not any longer. I am hereby promoting you to the rank of captain."

Bänder was at a loss for words. A promotion? He had never even met Grand Mod Tarkin and yet here he was, providing Bänder with the key to a new life. The rank of Captain came with many new opportunities in the Imperial Navy!

'Keep your composure' he thought to himself.

"T-Thank you Governor... but," Bänder hesitated.

Tarkin raised an eyebrow slightly at Bänder's hesitation.

"Spit it out Captain." Tarkin was not one to annoy, as his position enabled him to execute anyone who did so.

"Well you see Governor, why of all people in the galaxy was I chosen for this promotion?" Bänder did not want to enquire too much of the man who could end his life, but he felt he needed an answer to this question.

Tarkin answered rather quickly.

" I will disclose this information to you when we meet in person. I shall send you the coordinates presently. As for now I have pressing matters to attend to."

And with that Tarkin's hologram disappeared.

Bänder let out a long breath that he hadn't even been aware he's been holding. He was going to meet Grand Moff Tarkin for an unknown reason concerning a surprise promotion.

He was slightly skeptical but, orders were orders. He sighed again before using his comm to contact the bridge.

"Prepare the Reliant for immediate departure, I will be boarding the station to acquire a few necessary items and will return in one hour."

Bänder did not even stay to listen for a reply but instead began to stride towards his mirror.

His dark brown hair was hanging in his face and his ice blue eyes were staring back at him.

He pushed his hair back and slipped on his grey cap with his silver officer's insignia.

He would get to the bottom of all this...


End file.
